From novel heritage storytelling to support migrant wellbeing to building community disaster resilience, UniSC has secured Discovery Early Career Researcher Awards totalling more than $820,000 from the Australian Research Council to deliver innovative projects with national impact.
UniSC Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Ross Young said UniSC’s success in the awards highlighted the important role that UniSC research played in seeking timely solutions across diverse areas of need.
“It is wonderful to see UniSC early career researchers recognised in these highly competitive awards. While their projects are vastly different, both outcomes will generate new knowledge and help to inform policy and planning that will benefit many across Australia,” Professor Young said.
Human geography specialist Dr Elrick-Barr has received $393,664 for a project to develop and communicate urgently needed strategies to assist coastal communities to prepare for and respond to climate hazards.
“More frequent and intense climate hazards are devastating Australian communities and are projected to worsen as the climate changes,” Dr Elrick-Barr said.
“This project has relevance for over 20 million Australians living in coastal areas by creating new knowledge to guide the delivery of targeted financial and educational support to help communities manage their preparation and response to natural disasters effectively and collaboratively.”
The project will compare case studies of four communities that are vulnerable to coastal threats in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia.
